


Your Red-Headed Mentor

by CAWS5749



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2020-07-20 12:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19991839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CAWS5749/pseuds/CAWS5749
Summary: You're in the Red Room. The Avengers rescue you. Your adventures getting to know everyone, mostly Nat. You have a family now.





	1. Prequel

You were training. You had just finished wrestling with one of your trainers. You were given praise, before being allowed to move on to your individual training. You chose to lift weights and work on your arms and shoulders, before moving to your daily run. Running was your free time, your escape from everything. You hadn’t graduated yet, you were only 17 after all. You told yourself you were different from the others. You excelled at the top of your class, but you also could hide your emotions better. You felt the emotions, even though they told you not to. 

The doors burst open, and you stopped the treadmill. She looked familiar. The red hair. The green eyes. The black suit. She set her eyes on yours. You knew who she was. 

Yeah, she was the original black widow. Natasha Romanoff. 

And you were in the Red Room.


	2. Ch 1: your first day

You and her were locked in an intense gaze for another second, before she kicked into action. You watched as a few more people followed her into the room. You recognized them too. Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye. You saw the other girls in your class, some of them your friends, fleeing out the door or through the secret doors in the wall. Within two minutes, the room was cleared. The Avengers had started attacking other parts of the building, you supposed. You still hadn’t moved. You probably should, but you were trying to wrap your head around what happened. And for some reason, you didn’t feel threatened that they were here. 

The building got quiet and you were still standing on the treadmill. You didn’t really have anywhere to go or anything to do. You sat down, and a moment later saw the Avengers walking past the broken down door. They must be on their way out, you thought. A moment later, the Black Widow walked back into the room. She gazed curiously at you. 

“Hey, I’m Natasha,” she greeted. You nodded.

“I know. I’m Y/N,” you responded. 

“Let me help you, Y/N. Do you want to come with us?” she questioned. You thought about it for a moment. You didn’t have anywhere else to go. You nodded slowly, and she gave a small smile at your agreeing. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.” You followed her out the doors of the building. It was weird to be outside. You didn’t really get to do that often. Natasha knew that, and her lips quirked slightly upwards at the slight awe on your face. She led you to a big jet, which was called the Quinjet.

You followed her onto the jet, and met each of the Avengers. They looked at you cautiously. You were new and a trained killer, and were supposedly an emotionless one. After meeting each of them, you decided that you liked Clint a lot, he had already made some small joke that brought a smile to your lips. Steve seemed calm and trustworthy, and you liked him too. Tony made you skeptical, and Bruce hardly said anything. You were told that Thor would be back at the compound later in the week, and you could meet him then. 

That made you pause. So they were going to let you stay for a little bit. It made you a little bit nervous. You saw Natasha sit down in a seat, and you sat down near her. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Natasha spoke to you quietly. She could tell you were nervous. You nodded, not willing to show too much emotion. You sat in silence for the remainder of the trip, and listened to the Avengers joking around with each other. They didn’t discuss the fact that they had just destroyed the Red Room- they wouldn’t in your presence. 

“Landing,” Clint called out. You became even more nervous. You had no idea where you were, or where you would be staying. You forced yourself to shove your worries down, and focus on staying alert, in case you needed to get away. 

You followed Natasha when she stood up, and you were met with the site of the compound, as they called it. It was really really big. You heard her chuckle as you stared at it. You followed her inside the large doors, and up the stairs. 

“I’ll show you to a free room. It’s just down the hall from mine, and right next to Wanda’s,” she said. You nodded and followed her to the room. It was spacious and comfy, but bare. You didn’t really have anything to set down.

“We’re going to have to go shopping, but some of Wanda’s things might fit you for now,” she stated thoughtfully. “I’ll give you a tour so that way you know where everything is.” 

She began the tour, stopping first to point out the door to her room. She then continued down the hallway, before leading you down a different hallway that lead to the kitchen and adjoining living room. It was a big open space that had multiple rooms in it. You liked it. It was modern and classy. She pointed everything out to you, and then told you about the food. 

“Do you know what you like?” she questioned, already knowing the answer. You shook your head. It’s not like you got a choice in the Red Room. She nodded, knowingly. 

“You can try a bunch of stuff and then let me or FRIDAY know what you like. Oh! FRIDAY?” she called. The AI responded, making you twitch. She explained FRIDAY to you, and you nodded. 

She then moved on to the gym. Your eyes lit up upon seeing it. This was comfort to you. Training was something you knew how to do, and this gym was the greatest training facility you could imagine. She chuckled. 

“Feel free to come workout anytime,” she said. “Maybe once you get comfortable we could spar,” she suggested casually. You gave her another nod. She led you back upstairs and told you that the team was going to be eating dinner soon. You both sat at the counter, her drinking a beer and you drinking something she called a shirley temple. It was good and sweet. 

“The chef is making a lot of different things, so you can try a lot,” she said to you. 

“I’m looking forward to trying everything,” you responded. You felt a little more comfortable with her now. It had only been a few hours, but you almost trusted her, not that you would ever trust someone fully. You had been trained to never trust anyone, but you were beginning to wonder if that was wrong. You saw how Natasha acted with the other Avengers. You were beginning to think that she trusted them, like fully trusted them. 

“We’re having a movie night later. You should join us,” she said with a soft smile. 

“What movie are you watching?” you asked.

“I’m not sure, I know it’s Wanda’s turn to pick. She usually picks a comedy, especially since Clint picks before her, and always chooses the scariest horror movie he can find,” she gave a small laugh. You found yourself letting out a laugh too. 

“Heyyy black widows,” Tony greeted. You tensed immediately, and you weren’t sure why. You were a black widow, though you technically hadn’t graduated, but only because you weren’t 18 yet. It was who you were, shouldn’t you be proud? Your thoughts were interrupted when you saw Natasha shoot him a glare. She’s looking out for me. Yeah, you liked her. 

“Sorry,” he muttered to you. You didn’t even acknowledge his apology because you honestly weren’t sure why he was apologizing. He was technically correct. 

“Who’s hungry?” Clint asked enthusiastically as he entered the kitchen, effectively decreasing the tension in the room. 

“What’s on the menu?” Natasha asked Tony. He shrugged. 

“I’m not sure, I just told the chef to do a bunch of things.” 

“Excuse me,” FRIDAY chimed in. “Dinner is nearly ready. I suggest you all head to the dining room.” 

“Where is the chef?” you questioned. You had been sitting in the kitchen, but the chef clearly wasn’t there. 

“Oh, he’s downstairs in the other kitchen. This floor is more just for us who live here,” Tony responded. Wow, there’s more than one kitchen, you thought.

You followed everyone down to the dining room, where Wanda, Vision, and Steve were already sitting and talking. You sat down and listened as they all started talking about the movie picks for tonight. The chef came in and started telling everyone about each dish he brought in. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Bruce muttered as he ran in. “I was in the lab.” The chef continued until there were twelve separate dishes scattered around the table. You gazed at all of them, suddenly starving. Everyone was given the okay to start digging in, though you weren’t sure where to start. Natasha, sitting next to you, offered her help. She asked about each dish, and if you wanted to try it, she would scoop a small amount onto your plate. By the end, you had an entire plateful, and you started eating. 

Everything was so good. You couldn’t remember ever having eating this much in your life. 

“Save room for dessert,” she chuckled. You looked at her in amazement, making her laugh. She couldn’t help it as she offered you a sad smile. She knew you didn't get that in the Red Room. 

“So, Y/N,” Clint pondered. “Who’s the strongest Avenger?” You smirked, before acting like you were thinking it through. You knew exactly who the strongest Avenger was. 

“Natasha,” you responded. She glowed, looking at you. She then turned to her fellow Avengers, looking smug. Clint and Tony actually pouted. 

“Not fair, you’re just saying that because you guys get along well,” Clint whined. Everyone let out some laughs, before going back to the movie topic. The movie still hadn’t been picked. You listened to the conversation, even chiming in every so often. 

Everyone ate dessert, commenting the entire time on how good it was. Wanda finally picked a movie, and everyone brought their plates to the sink before heading to the living room. Steve passed out blankets to everyone, and you settled into the couch beside Natasha. You enjoyed the movie, and so did everyone else, judging by the laughter filling the room. It ended, and everyone got up. Steve went to put his blanket away, and everyone decided to chuck their blankets with all their strength at him. He glared at all of them jokingly, and you moved to get up and help him put them away. 

“Thanks Y/N,” he smiled. You talked with Natasha and Wanda on the way back to your rooms. 

“Do you need some clothes for tonight? Let me get you some,” Wanda said. You all entered her room. It was really nicely decorated, and you told her so. She thanked you warmly and brought some clothes out. You picked some, and she handed them to you and Natasha. You both bid her goodnight and walked down the hall to your guest room. Natasha helped you put the clothes away, before gazing at you, eyes sparkling. 

“Alright?” she asked, before she went to leave. You nodded and offered her a smile. She looked like she needed verbal confirmation. 

“I’m alright Natasha,” you said. She seemed satisfied. 

“Goodnight Y/N. See you in the morning. You can train in the morning or just head to the kitchen and eat if you want.” 

“Sounds good. Goodnight. Thank you,” you added, hoping she would catch the sincerity in your voice. She gave you a soft smile, before heading out and closing the door. You washed up in the bathroom and changed into Wanda’s pajamas, before collapsing into bed. 

I think I am going to like this place. 

Natasha didn’t head to her room. She headed to the bar downstairs for a drink. She needed it after this day; a lot had happened, and suddenly there was someone else staying in the compound. Someone she really liked, and someone she wanted to help. 

Steve joined her. 

“You alright?” he asked. She nodded. 

“Just... pensive I suppose,” she responded. 

“About Y/N?” When she didn’t respond, he continued. “You’ve taken a liking to her. You’re really good with her. She already looks up to you and she’s only known you for one day.”

“She reminds me so much of me at that age,” Natasha admitted. “I just want to help her. I know it’s too early to tell, but I think she might be a good addition to the team.” Steve nodded thoughtfully. 

“Well, we’ll see. Tomorrow she’ll start training, and we can see her abilities,” Steve said. Natasha nodded, before wishing him goodnight and heading to her room.


	3. Ch 2: "do you think she could become one of us?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're getting used to living in the compound.

When you woke up, it was still dark out. You couldn’t fall back asleep, and decided to head to the gym and workout. It was 6am, and you hoped you would have the gym to yourself. You changed into workout clothes Wanda had lent you and headed downstairs. 

No one else was in the gym, and you began to look around for certain machines and weights. You worked all of your muscles, before heading towards a punching bag. It was 7am when Natasha wandered into the gym.

“Oh, hey,” she said, her voice still hoarse from sleep. She was clearly surprised you were here. 

“Hey,” you responded, before turning back to your punching bag. She didn’t say anything else, but instead eyed you curiously for a moment, before beginning her workout. A while later, you moved to do some stretching, and she was finishing up her short morning workout. 

“I’m heading upstairs- breakfast is almost ready. You coming?” she asked. 

“Is it okay if I run for a short while before breakfast?” you questioned. She nodded and gave you a small smile. 

“See you up there,” she responded. You nodded, and moved to the treadmill. 

Natasha didn’t head straight upstairs though. She headed to the viewing room above the training area. Steve, who had been walking down the hallway, happened to see her, and went to stand by her. 

“What are you doing?” Steve asked. 

“Watching her,” Nat said, nodding towards you. “She trains harder than I did at her age.”

“Do you think she could become one of us?” Steve questioned. Natasha nodded. They left to head to the kitchen, you oblivious to their entire conversation.

You ran for fifteen minutes, and headed upstairs. Everyone greeted you as you entered the kitchen. 

“We saved you some breakfast before Clint could eat it all,” Tony joked. You laughed as Clint acted hurt. You grabbed the plate they had saved for you and joined them at the table, sitting beside Natasha. You listened to their conversations as you ate. 

“Do you want to train with us today? We’re doing something fun,” Natasha stated to you. 

“That sounds great,” you responded. If you had a chance to prove yourself to the Avengers, and train with the best, you were going to take it. Nat smiled, before telling you that everyone was going to meet in the gym at 1030. You nodded, before going to shower. 

“Do you need another set of workout clothes?” Wanda asked. You nodded sheepishly.

“If you have another set, that would be great. Sorry, these ones are kinda sweaty,” you said. 

“That’s okay,” she laughed. “I’m glad you got a good workout in this morning,” she smiled. You followed her to her room, and she gave you another set. You thanked her and headed to your room. You took your time showering, relishing in the warm water that the compound had. The Red Room only had freezing cold water, which effectively forced you to shower quickly. The compound bathroom was also large and made of beautiful marble. You felt like royalty. 

At 1015, you began to make your way down to the gym. You were excited, but honestly, pretty nervous. Sure you knew how to train, but you were training with the Avengers, which was something completely different entirely. You walked into the gym. 

“You’re early. I like it,” Steve said. You smiled at him. He was setting things up. 

“Do you want some help?” you asked. 

“Sure,” he replied. He instructed you on where to put things, and you got to work. 

“Oh, that’s pretty heavy, I forgot, I can get that,” he said, when you began to head towards something to move it. You tried to move it, curious, and found you could. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got it,” you replied, and continued moving it. He stared at you for a moment, impressed. Maybe Nat’s right. This one’s got the potential to be a great asset to the team. 

The rest of the team slowly filed in. At 1030 sharp, Steve began to explain how the obstacle course was going to work. 

“Am I allowed to sabotage some of the team members?” Tony questioned. 

“Absolutely not Tony,” Steve scolded. “This is individual training but it’s also a tag team effort so you need to work with your team.” Tony sighed dramatically and muttered under his breath. 

“Okay everyone. You’ve got your teams. You know what to do. 3...2...1... go!” Steve shouted. 

You were on the team consisting of Natasha, Clint, and Wanda. The other team was composed of Tony, Vision, Sam, and Bucky. (When Steve had called out the teams, Clint had been very very wise to not bring up the fact that he was on a near all-girl team.)

Natasha and Bucky were going first. Nat was ahead of him, but not by very much. They raced through the course and back, Nat tagging Clint just seconds before Bucky tagged Sam. Sam beat Clint by a second, tagging Vision. A moment later, Wanda was catching up to Vision, and they raced through the course. They reached you and Tony at the same time, and you took off. Tony was right on your tail, but you loved running, and speed was definitely one of your strengths. He was stronger, but that didn’t slow you down too much. At the halfway point, you were about two seconds ahead, and determined to keep it that way. As you got closer to your team, you saw how they were cheering you on, calling your name and screaming words of encouragement. You had never had that in the Red Room, and it gave you a huge push of motivation. You sprinted harder, using every muscle in your body to push you through the last obstacles. You reached your team a full four seconds before Tony, and they were ecstatic. 

After receiving praise from them, and several high fives from everyone, you glanced at Steve, who was still away from the course. He was staring at you, impressed with what you had done. You blushed, meeting his gaze. It was becoming a little overwhelming. You hadn’t ever received this much praise by so many people, and you started wanting to disappear back to the room you were staying in. Steve, watching you like a hawk, could tell that it was becoming a bit much.

“Okay everyone, that’s enough. Hit the showers, and then it’s lunchtime,” Steve commanded. Everyone nodded, and followed his order. 

Two weeks later, you had become accustomed to how things were run in the compound. You had begun to get to know some of the Avengers a little bit, and were a little more comfortable now. You started to learn everyone’s routines, and had begun to develop one yourself. Today though, you quickly learned that your routine was going to be changed a bit. 

You entered the kitchen after your workout for breakfast. 

“Hey Y/N, I was thinking we could go shopping today. Wanda’s things fit you, but I think it’s time you get some of your own,” Natasha said thoughtfully, throwing you a smile. You nodded.

“Yeah that sounds good,” you replied. “I... I don’t have any money,” you murmured to Natasha. 

“It’s okay,” she reassured. “Tony will be paying for it.” You hummed and thanked Tony.

“No problem kid. Can’t have you wearing the same things every day that would be a fashion nightmare. It already is,” he joked. You chuckled and finished your breakfast. 

“I’m just going to shower real quick and then I’m ready,” you told Nat. She nodded. 

“I’ll be in the living room. Just head there when you’re done.”

You quickly showered and brushed through your hair, putting on a pair of Wanda’s leggings and a sweater, before heading to the living room. 

“All set? Let’s go,” Natasha said, before standing up. You followed her downstairs to the garage, where she grabbed her keys from the hook and climbed into her sports car. 

“Wow,” you muttered. 

“I like it too,” she chuckled. 

It was a twenty minute drive to the mall, and you loved every second of it. Nat liked to drive fast, and you could tell she loved the thrill. Honestly, so did you. Once getting there, she parked perfectly, and led you inside. You hadn’t really ever shopped before, and were a little nervous about it. Natasha led you into nearly every store there was, and managed to help you pick out some things you really liked. Most of the stuff you bought was workout gear, of course, but she made sure you had two pairs of jeans, and some nice tops and sweaters. She said that Tony threw lots of parties, and had you buy a couple of dresses for those. 

You were both beginning to grow tired, and she suggested you stop at the coffee shop in the mall. You both sat down with your mugs, and you noticed something was off. She was bouncing her foot ever so slightly and her lips were pursed. 

“Nat?” you questioned, finding yourself a little concerned. She hummed, before looking you in the eyes. 

“Y/N, I would like to officially ask you to join the team. Everyone is impressed with your abilities, and thinks you would be a great asset to the team. Plus, everyone enjoys your company too.” She paused, before asking, “Do you want to be an Avenger?”

You couldn’t think. You couldn’t see straight. That can’t be right. There’s no way the team wants you to join them. You weren’t qualified, you weren’t good enough. There’s no way you-

“Y/N?” Natasha interrupted your thoughts, brows furrowing in concern. You realized you were breathing quite fast, and tried to calm down. 

“Sorry,” you murmured. “Are you sure?” you asked. She looked at you, tilting her head. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” she answered. You nodded. 

“I want to join,” you said, still not believing it. She couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her lips. 

“Well then, I think we need to go shopping for decorations for your room,” she pondered. You thought you were going to faint.

“Don’t pass out on me. I don’t want to have to carry you around,” Natasha laughed. You blushed, before you both picked up all of the bags and headed to the car, discussing where you were going to shop next. 

After finding pieces for your room, you headed back to the compound. You lugged all the bags upstairs and dumped them in your room.

“You can put them away later. Right now, the team wants to talk to their newest member,” Nat said, smiling. You both headed to the kitchen, and joined the rest of the Avengers at the table. They had been waiting for you. 

“Alright squirt, we need to talk about some rules here,” Tony said. “Oh and uh congrats by the way.” The rest of the team cheered and hollered, making you blush. 

“Hey! We’ve gotta set rules!” Tony interrupted. Everyone listened after a little bit of scolding and got serious. 

“Curfew first,” Tony stated. 

“What he means is, you’re not over 18 yet, so we just need to make sure you’re safe,” Natasha interrupted. “And we are aware that you probably wouldn’t really be going out much anyway, but we just wanted to discuss it.” Tony nodded. 

“9pm,” Tony said. Clint swatted him.

“She’s not a grandma she doesn’t go to bed at 10!” Clint exclaimed. Wanda giggled, sending you an amused look. 

“Fine, midnight,” Tony huffed. Natasha and Steve nodded, content with the time set. 

“You have to ask before borrowing any of the cars,” Tony continued. 

“I can borrow a car?” you asked, shocked. At your face, Tony’s gaze softened. 

“Of course,” he replied. “As long as you ask,” he chuckled. You nodded, still blown away by everything that was happening. 

“That’s all we can think of right now. If we need to set some rules as we go, we’ll do that,” Steve added. You nodded. 

“Oh and you’ll be training with the whole team of course, but I will also be training you additionally,” Nat said. You nodded and sent her a soft smile. 

“Okay, let’s go help her unpack all of her new things,” Wanda said. You nodded, still smiling. Natasha, Wanda, and you all got up and headed out to the room that was now yours. 

“You better keep that room clean!” Tony yelled at your retreating figures. You all laughed, before discussing how you were going to arrange your room. 

Nat and Wanda helped you set everything up and put all of the clothes away. Wanda left to watch a movie with Vision before dinner, and Natasha grabbed you one of your new workout sets. 

“I’m going to train with you before dinner, okay?” You nodded, and went to go change. She told you to meet her in the gym in 15 minutes. You headed there early after changing to warm up with a quick run. Natasha entered and hummed, looking at your curiously. 

“Warmed up?” she questioned, chuckling softly. You nodded, before following her to a large sparring mat. 

“We’re going to spar first, so that I can really get an idea of how you were trained,” she instructed. You froze a bit, before nodding. You both took your places and began. She learned that you were quick on your feet, strategic, focused, and agile, though you could be cautious. You learned what her favorite go-to moves were, how she would sometimes step a little too far, and that she was extremely good at judging what your next move would be. 

“Can you teach me your signature move?” you questioned, out of breath. She nodded, and led you over to one of the dummies bolted to the floor. She carefully explained each part of the move, and you practice it slowly on the dummy. You were having some trouble and growing frustrated quickly. Natasha was watching you carefully, waiting to see if you would give up or get too angry. She was surprised when you regulated yourself, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, before approaching the dummy a different way. 

“Y/N, you know it took me a while to really nail the move,” she said. “I think we’ve trained enough for today. You did well,” she praised. You smiled proudly, grateful for the praise. 

“Go wash up for dinner,” she instructed, before handing you a water bottle. You nodded and thanked her for training you. She gave you a curious glance, followed by a soft smile. 

You left, passing by Clint, who gave you a high five. He went into the gym. 

“How’d she do?” he asked Natasha. 

“She’s good. And not just at the physical stuff. She listens well and tries to figure things out on her own. She’s strategic and focused. She’ll do well,” Nat replied. “I am a little concerned though- she’s hard on herself. Too hard. I feel like that might get worse unless I do something,” she continued. Clint nodded thoughtfully. 

“You’re a good mentor,” he said, bumping his shoulder into hers. She looked at the ground, a soft smile on her lips. “If anyone can help her escape the horrors of where she was raised, it’s you.” She frowned at that, knowing just how many horrors you had faced. 

“Come on, you’re not going to help her by standing there frowning,” Clint joked. “Let’s let her pick the movie for movie night tonight.” She nodded, before chuckling. 

“It’s going to take her all of dinner to look through all the movies,” she grinned. 

“Well then she better get started,” Clint replied.


	4. Ch 3: "...she's like me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're adjusting to life as a new Avenger, and you become vulnerable.

You had been training with the team and Natasha for a few weeks now. You had gotten adjusted to life as a new Avenger, though you hadn't been cleared to go on any missions yet. You needed a little bit more training before that could happen. 

You had gotten closer to the team, especially your mentor, Natasha. She helped you a great deal in adjusting to your knew life, including helping you with fashion, makeup, designing your room, reading books, cooking (though she was a terrible cook so that wasn’t much help), and watching movies. 

She could tell something was off with you one day while she was training you. You were unfocused, and your movements were sloppy. 

“Y/N?” she questioned. You mumbled an apology before attempting to redo the move. 

“Stop,” she said softly. You looked down at the ground, afraid you had disappointed her. 

“What’s wrong?” You shook your head. 

“Come on, follow me,” she instructed. You followed her out of the gym and up the stairs, onto the roof. The pool was up there, and she led you to a cabana near the edge of the roof. You took a second to look around once inside the cabana. It was a nice size, and there was a waterfall taking up one whole wall. It was gorgeous, and the view of the pool on one side and the forest on the other was breathtaking. 

“Wow,” you managed to get out. Her lips twitched upwards. 

“This is my personal cabana. FRIDAY does’t let anyone in here except for me. I had Tony build it last summer,” she informed you. “I want you to feel free to use it any time. I’ve already told FRIDAY to let you in whenever.”

Your face showed your shock, and you thanked her, before wondering something.

“Why are you letting me in here?”

“Because you’re an Avenger now. You’re a part of the family. My family,” she admitted, her gaze intense, letting you know just how much you meant to her. You couldn’t hold back your smile of wonder that came to your face, before your face fell. She waited for you to say something. 

“I can’t stop thinking about the Red Room,” you whispered. She nodded and pursed her lips. She’d been there before. She knew exactly how you were feeling. 

“I love being a part of the team. A lot. I love hanging out with everyone and having all of this support. And I’m so incredibly grateful. But it’s such a huge change. I know it’s messed up, but I miss the brutality. I’m used to being yelled at for showing any signs of being weak, being human. How do I live without that?” you questioned softly. You had never been this vulnerable in front of anyone. Your eyes were staring at a spot on the ground, and you missed tears swimming in Natasha’s eyes. She blinked them away, before reaching out and taking your hand in hers. 

“Y/N, in order to have survived in the Red Room, you had to have been strong. The weak don’t make it. They don’t become black widows. You were strong enough to survive. I know that you were at the top of your class. You were probably the strongest one there. Because of your strength, you will be able to move past the Red Room. You were taught that to be human was to be weak, but all of the strengths you have are because you are human. And as for the brutality, the only fix is time. You need time to be able to see that you do not need the brutality to live. Give it time. I promise it gets better,” she finished.

Though you were normally so composed, you let a tear slide down your cheek, wiping it away quickly. 

“Thanks Natasha,” you murmured. She sent you a smile, before letting go of your hand. 

“I think we’ll take the rest of the day off, and resume training tomorrow, yeah?” she questioned. You nodded, before following her downstairs. 

You were fine for a few days, but were growing curious. You had opened up to Nat, and you found yourself thinking about it a lot. You were surprised that it had felt really nice to talk to someone about the Red Room. You wondered about Nat's time there and how she got past it, but weren’t sure if she wanted to talk about it, especially with you. 

You decided you were just going to ask her. Maybe. You walked from your room to hers cautiously and slowly. You stopped right outside her door, hand raised, ready to knock. But you didn’t. After a few minutes, you started to walk away, before her door opened. 

“Y/N? What is it?” she questioned softly. Unbeknownst to you, FRIDAY had alerted her of your presence when you had been just standing there for more than a minute. When you continued to just stand there, she decided to eventually open the door. 

“Um, I was wondering- I mean I’m not sure if I- I- can I ask you something?” you said, staring at the floor. She chuckled softly.

“Of course, come in,” she opened the door wider. You had never been in Nat’s room before. It was simple, but filled with some pictures scattered on various surfaces and a few pieces of artwork here and there. She led you to the end of the bed, and sat down. You sat next to her. 

“Can I ask you about the Red Room?” you blurted out. She tensed, but nodded. 

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to say yes,” you muttered. 

“Y/N, I gave you the okay to ask. I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t want to answer,” she reassured. You nodded. 

“There were a few older girls who turned 18. They had a graduation ceremony that none of the younger girls knew about. What was it? Is it something I didn’t learn that you could teach me?” you asked. She took a deep breath in, and let it out. 

“Y/N, the graduation ceremony... it’s not something you learn. It’s a surgical procedure.”

“Oh... well should I get it?” you asked, without even knowing what it was. “Will it make me a better Avenger?”

“Y/N... it’s a sterilization procedure.” Your face went white. 

“Oh...” you whispered. Your brain felt overloaded. And then you realized. Natasha graduated. The thought of her having to go through that brought tears to your eyes, and before you knew it you were crying. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” you muttered. 

“Y/N, calm down. I would not have told you all of this if I wasn’t okay with talking about it,” she reassured you once more. “It’s cruel what they do, and I’m glad you weren’t forced to undergo that procedure,” Nat said. You nodded, shaking a bit. You stayed quiet. 

“I know you have other questions,” she chuckled. “You came in here, your mind racing with all of the things you wanted to talk about.” You hummed. 

“How about I tell you some things?” she questioned. You nodded. 

“I have a feeling you’re wondering if my training was the same as yours,” she began. “I think it was relatively the same. All of the moves you know were moves I learned there. Everything else I know I either learned from someone else or taught myself after graduating. And I’m sure we received the same psychological training as well.” You nodded. She continued. “After graduating, well, you know about what I did, but after I started working for SHIELD, I needed to find a way to cope. I needed to learn how to become my own person. So do you.”

“How do I do that?” you wondered aloud. She chuckled.

“Do everything you are doing now. You have a family now. Spend time with them, find hobbies, try a bunch of new things. You need to find out what you like, and then you’ll know who you are. And then, find out what you stand for. What do you support? What are you against? All of these things will make up you.”

“Thank you Nat,” you murmured, content with the conversation. She hummed, before pulling you in for a hug. 

“You alright?” she questioned. You nodded. 

“Good,” she said softly, smiling. “Go to bed, it’s late.” You nodded again before scurrying out, making her laugh. What have I gotten myself into, she thought, a smile still on her face. 

After you had gone to bed, Natasha got up and went to the bar to grab a drink. Clint was already sitting there. 

“Hey,” he greeted. “What have you been up to?”

“Talking to Y/N. She asked me about the Red Room, the graduation ceremony and the training, and my life after that,” Natasha admitted. 

“Oh,” Clint said, a little speechless. “And you answered?”

“I answered. I gave her information willingly without her prompting too,” she said. 

“You okay?” Clint questioned. She nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m glad I could help her with that stuff.”

“You like being her mentor. Hell, you like her a lot Nat,” he responded. 

“She’s like me,” was all Nat said. Clint nodded. He understood.


	5. Ch 4: Your Birthday, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's your birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t mean for this chapter to be two parts, but I really wanted to post something, and it was getting long so here’s the first part.

A few weeks later. You were training with Natasha. 

“Your birthday is next week, right?” your mentor questioned, out of breath after she had just pinned you to the mat. 

“Uhh... yeah I guess so,” you responded, before managing to flip her. 

“Do you wanna celebrate?”

“Umm....sure,” you replied. 

“Are you sure?” she questioned, pausing her movement. You thought about it. When Natasha decided you were taking too long, she took the opportunity to send you flying back down onto the mat. 

“Ow,” you groaned. “Yeah, I’m sure,” you muttered. She sent you a soft smile before helping you up. 

The day before your birthday. 

You were laying in bed, watching Netflix, and there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” you called, pausing the show. Natasha walked in and greeted you. 

“Hey,” you replied. 

“I wanted to come and tell you about what we have planned tomorrow for your birthday. I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed, and so I don’t want anything to be a surprise, except for gifts” Nat said. You nodded. 

“Wait, gifts?” you questioned. She chuckled. 

“Yes, Y/N, everyone got you gifts.” 

“Oh,” was all you said. 

“They were really excited to get you stuff. They like to spoil you. Honestly, I was excited getting you a gift too,” Natasha admitted. 

“Okay.” You weren’t sure what else to say. It’s not like you were receiving gifts or celebrating your birthday in the Red Room. 

“Okay, so Wanda wants to make a big breakfast for everyone, and then Steve wanted to take a team hike to show you the surrounding forest. Clint’s one mission is to sneak you alcohol tomorrow night, at the party Tony is throwing for you. He wants to officially announce that you are an Avenger. That leaves the afternoon open, and I thought maybe you and I could do something,” she finished. You tried to take it all in. 

“I know it’s overwhelming,” she murmured. “The team really wants to give you the world. They know you’re not used to being spoiled, so they want to spoil you. It’s okay if you don’t want to do everything. If you ever feel uncomfortable, just tell me, and we can do something else,” she soothed. You nodded, smiling. 

Natasha was becoming an extremely important person in your life. She was your mentor and teammate, but becoming more. You were starting to truly trust her, and you looked up to her. You could tell that she cared about you, and that you meant a lot to her. 

She stood up to leave your room. “Get some rest Y/N. Tomorrow, when you wake up, you’ll be 18,” she said, sending you a soft smile. 

The next morning. 

“Happy birthday Y/N,” you heard someone murmur as you were gently shaken. You opened your eyes and saw Natasha. 

“Thanks,” you replied sleepily. 

“So how does it feel?” she asked. 

“How does what feel?”

“Being 18,” she chuckled. 

“Oh... I don’t feel any different,” you frowned. She laughed. 

“Well that’s okay. Come on, breakfast is almost ready.” You nodded, allowing her to help you up. You followed behind her sleepily to the kitchen. 

“Prepare yourself,” she chuckled, before leading you around the corner. Your eyes went wide. There were streamers everywhere and balloons and even a banner that read Happy Birthday Y/N. 

“Wow,” you breathed. 

“Happy Birthday Y/N!” was heard around the room, before you were being engulfed in hugs by your teammates. You thanked everyone, before Wanda pulled you towards the table. 

“Sit down, it’s your day to just relax and have everything taken care of for you,” she said. Natasha sat down next to you, ready to help you in case you became overwhelmed. Wanda started serving crepes, waffles, pancakes, fruit, eggs, bacon, and several other things. You felt Nat’s eyes on you, checking to make sure you were alright. You weren’t feeling overwhelmed yet. Honestly, you knew that your team would be able to eat everything. After all, there were two super soldiers amongst normal hungry humans. 

Everyone began eating the delicious meal that Wanda had cooked. You thanked her profusely, and offered to help her clean up all of the dishes. 

“I’m afraid that’s our job,” Steve said, pointing to himself and then Tony. “Go relax, get ready for the hike.” You nodded, heading back to your room. When you walked in, there were several new pairs of workout clothes sitting on the edge of your bed. 

“Do you like them?” someone asked from behind you. You turned to see Wanda. 

“I know you really liked some of the styles of workout clothes I had when you borrowed them, so I figured I could get you some,” she spoke. 

“I love them Wanda, thank you so much,” you replied, and walked over to give her a hug. 

“I’ll wear a new set for the hike today!” you exclaimed. She laughed, excited that you were happy. She left you to change, and you picked out a cute high-necked sports bra and matching high-waisted leggings. Once ready, you wandered out to the living room, where some of the team was already ready and waiting. You sat down on the couch next to Natasha. 

“Cute clothes,” she said. 

“Thanks, they’re from Wanda,” you replied, a smile on your lips. She sent a smile back.

“We’re just waiting on Tony and Thor,” Steve announced. 

“I’m here, I’m here,” Tony huffed, entering the room. 

“Thor’s probably busy putting his hair in a scrunchie,” Clint joked, causing everyone to chuckle. 

“Well, while we’re all waiting for the god of Thunder, why don’t I give Y/N her birthday gift,” Tony suggested. Everyone nodded, their lips twitching upwards with smiles they were trying to hide. 

Of all the birthday gifts you were going to receive today, you were most worried about Tony’s. He could be extravagant, and you weren’t used to such things. 

“Alright, come on, let’s go, everyone to the garage,” Tony continued. You stood up and followed him downstairs, everyone else closely behind you. He opened the door to the garage, and led you past several of the cars there. He stopped about halfway to the other side. Sitting in one of the parking spots was a white Porsche Cayenne, with a big red bow on the top. 

“Ta-da! You like it?” Tony asked, clearly waiting for you to react. All you could do was stare. It was extremely extravagant. It was pretty and you liked how it looked, and you knew you could drive fast in it, which you liked. 

“Yeah, I- I love it, thank you, I can’t wait to drive it,” you managed to get out. You forced a smile onto your face. It’s not that you didn’t like it, because you did. It was just a lot. Way more than you were used to. You were beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. 

“You can take it for a drive later. Alright, let’s head back upstairs and check on Miss Vanity,” Tony said. Everyone turned to head back upstairs, and the small feeling of being overwhelmed had grown. You felt like there was something constricting your breathing and you began to feel slightly dizzy. 

Nat, who hadn’t let her eyes leave your face the entire time in the garage, noticed your discomfort. She moved towards you and put her hand on your back. 

“We’re going to stretch before the hike,” Natasha announced, before discreetly pushing you gently towards the door. Once outside, she had you sit down on the grass. 

“Y/N, look at me. Breathe. Everything’s okay. Just breathe,” she murmured. You focused on her calming voice, and found that it was becoming easier to breathe again. Once you felt relatively normal again, you went to stand. 

“Alright?” she questioned, hand stopping you from standing. 

“Yeah, thanks Nat, I’m better. I just got a little overwhelmed,” you admitted softly. She nodded, and removed her hand, allowing you to stand up. You sighed. 

“I hope Tony doesn’t think I don’t like the present,” you mused. 

“He knows you like it. He also knows it may have overwhelmed you, so I wouldn’t worry,” she replied. 

“Oh, here comes everybody else,” you pointed out. 

“Everybody ready?” Steve questioned. Everyone nodded. 

“I’m sure with you, Capsicle, this’ll be the greatest hike in history,” Tony stated. Steve rolled his eyes, before leading everyone towards the woods. 

By the end of the hike, you were in agreement with Tony’s statement. The grounds surrounding the compound were gorgeous, and on the hike you had seen several waterfalls. The hike had also helped to calm your mind, and you felt ready for the rest of your birthday. 

Everyone collapsed onto the couches after returning, exhausted. Some of the team went to take a shower, and some nearly fell asleep on the couch. 

“Hey,” Natasha murmured to you, lying on the opposite end of the couch. You turned your head a bit to look at her. 

“You wanna go do something?” she questioned. You nodded, before sitting up. I wonder what Nat has in mind. You weren’t worried about what she had planned, or what she had gotten you as a gift, because she knew you the most out of your team. You had become relatively close with nearly everyone, but Natasha was your mentor, and therefore, you were closest with her. Plus, she understood you the most. She knew your background, and you knew hers. 

“How about we take a test drive in your new car? I’ve got a destination in mind,” she said, smiling softly.


	6. PREVIEW: Ch 4: Your Birthday, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s taken me a long time to work on this series, I know. I’m really sorry, so here’s a preview for the next part. I promise the full chapter will be going up in the next few days. Hope you enjoy.

You and Nat made your way to the garage. Now that you were feeling a lot more calm, you were excited to explore everything about your new car. Natasha could sense your excitement. 

“Go ahead, look around in it. I don’t mind waiting a few minutes,” she laughed. You let a grin fall on your face as you bounded up to your car. You opened the trunk and then all of the doors, smiling all the while. Natasha stood against the wall behind the car, chuckling every few moments. Once you were satisfied for the time being, you turned to your mentor. 

“Okay, I’m ready, sorry,” you said sheepishly. 

“Do not apologize to me for something like that,” she chastised gently. You nodded and then you both got into the car. You started it and couldn’t help but grin widely at the sound of the engine. You turned to glance at Nat, who was smiling back at you, emerald eyes glittering. You could tell that she was ecstatic seeing you happy. 

“Okay, where to? you asked. 

“327 Black Widows Lane,” she replied, trying her hardest to not let her lips twitch upwards. You tilted your head. That was an odd address.

“Okay,” you replied, tone slightly cautious. You pulled out of the garage and sped off.

+++++++

“You like to drive fast,” she observed, about ten minutes into the drive. You laughed. 

“There’s just something that’s freeing about it,” you replied. She nodded knowingly and the rest of the drive passed in silence. 

Twenty minutes later, you turned onto Black Widows Lane. The sign had a sort of symbol on it, but you were driving too quickly to really see what it was. You started slowing down once the GPS alerted you that you were close. 

“It’s okay, there’s still a couple minutes left. It’s at the end of this road, just keep driving,” Natasha instructed. You gave her a curious look, but followed her direction.

A few minutes later you pulled up to the end of the drive. There was only space for one car to park. There wasn’t a building or anything though, just trees. You were confused, and looked at Nat. Her lips quirked upward. 

“Come on, it’s hidden. It’s just beyond those trees.”


	7. Ch 4: Your Birthday, Part Two

You and Nat made your way to the garage. Now that you were feeling a lot more calm, you were excited to explore everything about your new car. Natasha could sense your excitement. 

“Go ahead, look around in it. I don’t mind waiting a few minutes,” she laughed. You let a grin fall on your face as you bounded up to your car. You opened the trunk and then all of the doors, smiling all the while. Natasha stood against the wall behind the car, chuckling every few moments. Once you were satisfied for the time being, you turned to your mentor. 

“Okay, I’m ready, sorry,” you said sheepishly. 

“Do not apologize to me for something like that,” she chastised gently. You nodded and then you both got into the car. You started it and couldn’t help but grin widely at the sound of the engine. You turned to glance at Nat, who was smiling back at you, emerald eyes glittering. You could tell that she was ecstatic seeing you happy. 

“Okay, where to? you asked. 

“327 Black Widows Lane,” she replied, trying her hardest to not let her lips twitch upwards. You tilted your head. That was an odd address.  
“Okay,” you replied, tone slightly cautious. You pulled out of the garage and sped off.

+++++++

“You like to drive fast,” she observed, about ten minutes into the drive. You laughed. 

“There’s just something that’s freeing about it,” you replied. She nodded knowingly and the rest of the drive passed in silence. 

Twenty minutes later, you turned onto Black Widows Lane. The sign had a sort of symbol on it, but you were driving too quickly to really see what it was. You started slowing down once the GPS alerted you that you were close. 

“It’s okay, there’s still a couple minutes left. It’s at the end of this road, just keep driving,” Natasha instructed. You gave her a curious look, but followed her direction.

A few minutes later you pulled up to the end of the drive. There was only space for one car to park. There wasn’t a building or anything though, just trees. You were confused, and looked at Nat. Her lips quirked upward. 

“Come on, it’s hidden. It’s just beyond those trees.”

You and her climbed out of the car. She began to lead the way towards the trees and you followed. You could feel excitement growing in you, but mostly, you were just confused. She led you past some trees, and you came to a clearing of sorts. You gasped, your eyes taking it in. 

Sitting up between five trees was a treehouse. Not just any old treehouse. It was about the size of a living room. It had a door and walls so that no bugs would get it. You could see that one side had floor to ceiling glass windows, and inside you could see a comfy chair. You turned to Natasha.

“Nat... this... this is incredible,” you said, eyes filling with tears. 

“Let’s go inside,” she murmured, her own eyes brimming with tears. She led you up the wooden stairs leading to the front door of the treehouse. You still couldn’t believe this treehouse had a front door. She took out a key and unlocked the door. 

A tear fell down your cheek as you walked inside, taking in everything. There was a decent sized couch and a comfy chair with a footstool. A small bookcase and a little TV sat in the corner. A huge rug covered the ground. It was nice, but you wouldn’t call it extravagant. It was, well, it was perfect. 

“This is for you,” Nat murmured. “This is your escape, if you need it. I know how overwhelming everything has been, and this is your place. It’s a half hour drive and you can come here anytime you need to. The entire street is ours. No one else has any property on it. Only I know the address. And now you do too...327 Black Widows Lane... March 27... it’s the day we broke into the Red Room- the day I met you,” she finished. 

You were nearly sobbing now, and you launched yourself at her, arms wrapping around her neck. She held you as you cried. You couldn’t stop. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for you. And it was Nat, which made it extra special. She knew exactly what you wanted/needed. 

“Thank you,” you whispered, pulling back finally. She wiped away a tear on your cheek with her thumb and sent you a soft smile. 

“I have one more thing too- I hope that’s okay.” You nodded. You weren’t overwhelmed. This was going to be your escape from things that were overwhelming. And with how big it was, maybe sometimes you’d invite others to come here with you. 

Natasha pulled out a small wrapped box. You took it curiously and unwrapped it gently. You opened the box and inside you found a necklace. Two Black Widow symbols lay intertwined together on the chain. You just looked up at her, more tears cascading down your cheeks. She smiled. 

“The two Black Widows... it’s the same symbol that’s on the street sign.” You nodded in response, shaking from emotion. She led you over to the couch, afraid you’d fall. 

“Natasha. I can’t thank you enough. This is incredible. Everything you’ve done for me, given me, it means everything to me. When you rescued me from the Red Room, I wasn’t sure what I’d face. But I got this amazing family- I got you,” you said, your voice filled with emotion.

“And I got you,” she replied. “Being your mentor, being your family, it’s one of the greatest things to ever happen to me... I love you Y/N,” she finished. 

“I love you too.”

“And Happy Birthday!” she smiled. “Let me show you around the area. There’s a waterfall about five minutes away. I’ve put some chairs down by it in case you want to read or sit outside.” You both stood up and made your way out. She locked the door behind you, and handed you two keys. 

“These are both for you. It’s the same keys, I just wanted you to have an extra.”

“I want you to have it,” you murmured, handing her one back. A flurry of different emotions crossed her face, before she sent you a soft smile. 

++++++++

“I can’t believe you had the treehouse built for me. And bought out the whole street, and found this amazing location,” you murmured. You and Natasha had just taken a seat by the waterfall. 

“I wanted to give you something that showed you how much I care about you,” she replied, watching as your fingers played with your new necklace around your neck.

“You definitely did,” you smiled. You both turned to watch the waterfall for a few minutes.

“Is Clint really going to sneak me alcohol at the party?” you interrupted the silence. Natasha laughed.

“Definitely yes, but you don’t need to drink it if you don’t want to, okay?” She turned to you, making sure you saw how serious she was. 

“Okay... what if I do want to try it?” you asked, eyes looking at the ground. Her lips quirked upwards. 

“Then that’s okay. The whole team will be there to make sure you don't get into any trouble, and that no one causes trouble for you,” Nat replied. You nodded, still looking at the ground. Oh god I’m going to try alcohol, you thought. 

“We should probably go,” Natasha mused. “By time we get back and you get ready for the party, it’ll be close to starting, and everyone else wants to give you their gifts.” 

+++++++++

After getting back, the other team members gave you their presents, except for Steve. You liked them all a lot, but it was also a little overwhelming. Natasha made sure everything wrapped up quickly, so that you could go get ready for the party and escape for a little bit.

You sat at your vanity, cozy in a fluffy white robe. You applied your makeup slowly, not in any rush. Tony had told you to show up a little late to the party anyway, being that you were the honored guest. 

Honestly, you couldn’t believe you were being announced as an Avenger officially tonight. A little while ago you had been in the Red Room, training to be a spy and assassin. Someone who was supposed to be cold and heartless. But now, you had a family. You made jokes and helped your team with stuff. You hadn’t gone on your first mission yet, but you were going to soon. You were going to do a little good for the world. I hope everyone accepts me as an Avenger, you thought.

A knock at the door interrupted your thoughts. 

“Come in,” you called. Nat and Steve entered, greeting you.

“You ready for tonight?” Steve asked, chuckling. You nodded.

“I think so.”

“Nervous?” Natasha questioned. 

“Very,” you replied. She came to stand behind you, hands on your shoulders. You met her gaze in the mirror. 

“Everything’s going to be okay. They’re all going to love you, and if they don’t, I’ll show them what a Black Widow can do,” Natasha smirked. You couldn’t help but smile, already feeling a tad calmer. 

“You look really nice,” you complimented, finally taking a second to look at her perfectly done makeup and hair, as well as gorgeous dress. She thanked you and turned to leave. 

“Old man Steve wants to talk to you,” she called as she left. “The party starts in half an hour, I’ll come get you in an hour!”

Steve moved over to lean against the wall near you once she had left. 

“I want you to know that the whole team has your back, tonight and always,” he began. “I wanted to give you your gift.” He paused to smile. “It’s in your closet, come on.” You followed him into your walk in closet, curious as to what on earth would be in there. You hadn’t seen anything new earlier. 

“JARVIS?” Steve questioned the A.I. 

“On it, Captain Rogers.” A secret door in the wall slid open, revealing a large clear wardrobe. Your eyes shot up. Black skin-tight suits of several varieties were perfectly displayed inside. Mission gear.

“Tony installed it, but my gift to you is your first mission. I’ll explain the details later officially, but I wanted to surprise you on your actual birthday.” You rushed to hug him, catching him a little off guard. He chuckled, but returned your hug. 

“Thanks Steve, I love this present,” you whispered. 

“I’m glad. Alright, finish getting ready for the party.” You nodded, and he left. Practically skipping back to your vanity, you took your seat and finished getting ready.

++++++++

You sighed, looking at yourself in the mirror. You hardly recognized yourself. The fancy dress, bold makeup, and curled hair made you look like someone else entirely. You looked good though, and that made you smile. 

You heard a knock on the door.

“Come in Nat,” you called. 

“You look beautiful,” she complimented as she walked in. You blushed. No one had ever said that to you before. 

“Thank you. Is it time?” you questioned, hoping your nerves weren’t showing too bad. She nodded.

“Everyone is really excited to meet you.” Natasha was talking about the government officials who were there as well as some donors. There were also others that the Avengers worked with whom you haven't met yet. You put on a determined face. 

“Let’s do this,” you stated. She smiled softly before grabbing your hand and leading you to the party. 

+++++++

“I think the guest of honor has arrived,” Tony spoke into the microphone. Nat and you were waiting around the corner. Tony wanted you to be announced before walking in, which made you roll your eyes, a move you used to hide your nervousness.

“It’s okay,” Nat murmured. “If it becomes too much, we can slip away for a little bit,” she soothed. You nodded. 

“...now let the world meet their newest Avenger- Y/F/N Y/L/N,” Tony finished, and the crowed cheered and clapped. Natasha led you around the corner to where Tony was, and the noise grew exponentially once people got their eyes on you. You could barely hear yourself think. All of these people were here, cheering for you, celebrating you. If you hadn’t been so focused on keeping yourself composed, you would have been sobbing. And you were also pretty sure by now that Natasha couldn't feel her hand due to you squeezing it with all your might. 

She glanced at you, a smile gracing her lips, but her eyes showed concern. You tried to send her your best reassuring smile. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she focused back on the crowd. Tony made a few more comments into the microphone before letting everyone get back to mingling. Thank god he didn't make you speak.

“Alright?” Natasha asked, once everyone turned away. 

“I need a drink,” you muttered. She smirked, before leading you towards the bar. Clint saw you from across the room and made a beeline for you.

“Fancy a drink?” he asked, nearly bouncing with excitement. You laughed and nodded.

“What can I make for you, your royal birthday highness?” He made his way around the bar to make drinks while you and Nat took seats on the barstools. 

“I... don’t know,” you frowned. 

“I’m going to have a martini. Do you want to try that before deciding?” Natasha asked you. You nodded. That sounded reasonable. Maybe you’d like whatever she was having. Clint fixed her drink and slid it across to her. She pushed it towards you immediately. 

“A small sip,” she instructed. You brought the glass to your lips and took a sip. You scrunched up your nose. 

“Don't like it?” Clint laughed. You shook your head. 

“I’ll take a long island,” Bruce requested, taking a seat at the bar next to Natasha. “You can try mine if you want Y/N.” You nodded. Clint made the drink and gave it to you. You took a small sip and sputtered. 

“Oh god, what is that taste?”

“Alcohol,” Steve replied, taking a seat next to you. 

“Beer?” Clint asked him. He nodded. 

“Want to try?” You nodded again, bracing yourself. The bottle was handed to you and you had a sip. Your head tilted.

“It’s not bad,” you said. Steve nodded approvingly. 

“Oh! I’ve got something you might like!” Thor joined everyone at the bar. “It’s this Asguardian mead-”

“No!” everyone shouted in unison. He pouted slightly and opened his mouth to respond, but Tony jumped in. 

“What about this- Pepper likes this drink and I think you might too.” He whispered the recipe to Clint. You watched curiously as Clint mixed orange vodka, club soda, and grapefruit juice. He set it in front of you. You sipped the drink and let a smile grace your lips. 

“We have a winner!” Tony cheered. “Alright, Happy Birthday Y/N!” Everyone cheered their glasses together, and you felt a surge of happiness run through you. 

“I love you guys,” you quietly admitted. 

“We love you too,” Natasha responded, before pressing a kiss to your hair. 

+++++++++

The rest of the party was a blur. You felt a little more relaxed after your drink, and actually enjoyed meeting people. It was 2am before you even thought of retiring to your room. And even then, the party was still in full swing. 

By 3am, the party was still going, but dying down pretty quickly. Steve, Nat, Bruce, Thor, Wanda, Clint, Tony, and you had taken up the couches surrounding one of the coffee tables. Everyone was playing a card game, except for you. Your head was lying in Natasha’s lap, and you were fast asleep. 

“Think she had a good birthday?” Tony questioned.

“I think she had a great birthday,” Natasha replied.


	8. Ch 5: Your First Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's taken me forever to write this, enjoy!

To say that you were excited would be an understatement. You couldn’t believe it- you were going on your first mission. It wasn’t a solo mission, which you were happy about, especially because Natasha was the one going with you. 

Currently, you stood in your closet, admiring all of your new suits. Your eyes kept flickering back to one, and you knew you wanted it to be the one you wore. You changed quickly and then busied yourself gathering weapons. You were practically bouncing up and down from both excitement and nerves. 

A knock at the door interrupted your thoughts. 

“Come in,” you called, voice shaking slightly. Natasha entered. 

“Ready?” she questioned. There was something a little bit off about her. Your brows crinkled slightly. Nat forced a smile once she had seen your face. 

“Yeah, I think so,” you replied, still wondering what was up with her. But given the fact that you were both heading on this mission together, you could always ask her later. 

The mission was going to be a relatively simple one. You and Nat were breaking into a small HYDRA base and gathering intelligence. You both would definitely have to fight some guards, but the base was small enough that you could easily handle it. You were nervous and excited, but still knew that you could handle it, especially with Natasha by your side. 

“Let’s go,” your mentor voiced. You patted yourself down to make sure you had all of your weapons, earning a small smirk from her, before following her out of the door. 

++++++

On the jet, Natasha went into “Black Widow” mode, as you called it. She made sure she was on the same page as Steve for how the mission would go down, and checked coordinates for the base. You felt a little bit useless as you sat in the passenger seat in the cockpit. Nat paused her preparations to send you a glance. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“Can I help with anything?” you replied. Natasha shook her head. 

“These are things you don’t need to know right now, I promise.” You nodded your head, and she made sure you understood, before turning back to her work. 

“Okay, so let’s go over the plan again,” Natasha advised. You huffed, earning a glare from her. 

“Sorry, it’s just that we’ve gone over it a million times. I could recite it in my sleep,” you sheepishly admit. 

“It doesn’t matter. Everything changes the second you’re not in a conference room anymore,” Nat chastised. If you didn’t know better, you’d say fear flashed on your mentor’s face. But Nat turned away before you could really look, and she headed towards the middle of the jet to check some things. 

“I know,” you mumbled, before continuing. “You land the jet far enough away so that HYDRA doesn’t know we’re there. You take the back entrance, while I make my way in through the roof. We work our way towards the middle, where the classified intelligence files are. Once we meet there, we quickly gather the intelligence and get out through the way you came in.” She nodded her approval once you had finished. You stood up and moved closer to where she stood so that it would be easier to talk to her. 

“And the rules?” Nat asked. 

“Always be on comms, follow the plan exactly, and let you know if something goes sideways.” 

“Good,” Natasha replied. She handed you an earpiece. 

“Channel 7?” 

“7 secure,” you replied, after making sure it worked. 

“Are you sure you can hear it alright?” Nat inquired. Your brows furrowed. Now you were sure that she was definitely worried. 

“Natasha,” you began. Once you were sure she was listening, you continued. “Everything is going to be okay,” you tried to assure her. She sighed and her gaze softened, realizing she was caught. 

“I know you can handle yourself, I’m just worried… I don’t want you to get hurt,” she admitted softly. Nat wasn’t hiding the worry in her face anymore, and you were a little shocked as you locked eyes. In the time that you had known Natasha, she had never been this worried, or at least, had never shown it. 

“I’m not going to get hurt. You trained me well, Nat. I’m prepared for this. And the Red Room taught me a thing or two as well.” She let a soft smile fall to her lips. 

“I know,” Natasha allowed. 

“Let me prove myself,” you murmured. Her head tilted and her eyebrows lifted. 

“Prove yourself? Y/N, you have nothing to prove. The entire team knows what you can do. They have complete faith in you. You’re an Avenger.” 

“I know, but this feels like the final step in becoming an Avenger,” you reasoned. She nodded at that, and sighed. You moved towards her and wrapped your arms around her neck. Once Natasha realized what was happening, she returned the hug, squeezing you tight. 

“Just stay safe,” she murmured. “And if something starts to go sideways, I’ll be there to protect you, okay?” You nodded into her. 

“Promise me, Y/N.”

“I promise, Nat.” 

++++++

Everything so far had gone smoothly. You had both made it safely from the jet to the HYDRA base. Natasha had gone off to sneak in through the back, and you had climbed gracefully onto the roof. 

You carefully lowered yourself down onto the floor, looking around for any enemies. You hadn’t been spotted until you unclipped yourself from the harness. 

“There!” A guard shouted upon seeing you. Your eyes went wide for a moment. Sure, you had trained and prepared for this, but Nat was right- it was different now that you were actually here. Your moment of surprise past as soon as it had come, however, and suddenly you sprinted towards him. You pounced once close enough,bringing him down swiftly. You turned to see two more guards. You shot a Widow’s bite at one before kicking the other in between the legs. Stop grunting, you scolded yourself. 

Natasha, hearing your noises, immediately came on comms. 

“Y/N!” She shouted. “Are you alright?” Panic was already settling into her voice. 

“Yeah, I just make a lot of noise while fighting,” you panted after you had taken them both down. You could practically hear her eyes roll. 

“Don’t scare me like that,” she snapped. 

“Sorry,” you replied sheepishly. You moved your way down the hallway, running into no other guards. You could hear Nat fighting some people over comms, making you a tad nervous. She could handle herself, and you knew that, but it was still a new thing hearing her fight people who weren’t on the Avengers team. It was as if she could read your mind, because after she had most likely brought them down, she spoke to you.

“I’m okay, Y/N,” she spoke quietly. You didn’t respond, but found yourself giving a sigh of relief. 

“I’m almost to the room,” you whispered. Natasha didn’t need to respond, because she came around the other corner just as you did. She nodded and you both crept up to the door. Nat peered into the small window and didn’t see anything odd. She opened the door and you both snuck in. 

Nat headed straight for the file cabinet that had the most desired information while you headed to the other wall of file cabinets in the back of the room. You both searched through the cabinets in silence. 

“I got mine,” Nat announced. 

“Okay, one second more,” you replied. 

“I’m going to check the hallway.” You nodded and Nat headed towards the door. She opened the door and stepped out. 

“I’m going to walk down the hallway,” she alerted. You grabbed your file and closed the cabinet. As soon as it clicked shut, you noticed a blinking red light. Oh no, you panicked. Before you could even think your legs were carrying you towards the door as fast as they could. 

“Nat,” you whimpered. She could tell something was off from your tone. 

“Y/N? What’s wrong? I’m coming to you,” she responded, and you could hear her sprinting to you. 

You burst through the door just as the bomb went off. It was relatively small, and was clearly only set to destroy all files and thieves in the room. The blast still sent you flying into the wall of the hallway though, and the smoke had you instantly coughing. 

“Y/N!”

“I’m fine,” you managed to choke out. Natasha reached you just as you sat up. You caught your breath and she pulled you upwards after making sure you had no significant injuries. You could see that she was trying not to cry. 

“I’m fine,” you repeated, still trying to make sure you actually were fine in your head. You had a couple of scratches and had the wind knocked out of you, but besides that, everything was good.

“Let’s go,” you insisted, not looking at Natasha’s face. You carefully removed yourself from her arms and started down the hallway. She sighed but followed you. Nat took over the lead and you both headed back to the door she had come in. Thankfully, you avoided all guards and made it back to the jet. 

Suddenly, you were ecstatic. You had just finished your first mission successfully. And sure, there was a minor bomb hiccup, but you were relatively unscathed and had retrieved all of the information. You let a grin fall on your face. Natasha noticed, and tilted her head.

“We did it!!! I did it!! My first mission was a success!” Your voice shook towards the end with emotion. 

“I’m proud of you,” she admitted, eyes filling with tears. You saw them of course.

“Nat?”

“Sorry,” she chuckled. “I’m just really proud of how well you did. And I’m really relieved you didn’t get hurt. That bomb was too close of a call.”

“It was a little scary,” you giggled. Natasha rolled her eyes, before pulling you in for a hug. She held you a little tighter than normal, and you realized how scared she had been. 

“I’m alright,” you murmured. “Thank you for being such a good mentor… and for being my family.” Nat just pressed a kiss to your head. 

“Let’s go home.” 

+++++++

You and Natasha walked into the compound. 

“How did it go?” Steve immediately questioned, expecting a debrief. 

“I survived a bomb!” You exclaimed.

“WHAT?” Clint yelled. “What do you-“ Steve held up his hand, effectively quieting Clint. 

“Nat, what does she mean? What happened?” 

Nat sighed. “They had a bomb rigged to blow if anyone closed the specific file cabinet that Y/N was retrieving files from. It was aimed to just destroy everything in that room. Y/N managed to get out, but still got blasted a bit.” Steve’s brows furrowed. 

“This is why we need to be careful,” Steve responded in his “captain” voice. “I’ll talk to Fury about some additional training. We can debrief tomorrow. Get cleaned up. Good job Y/N,” Steve finished, sending you a smile. He walked away, already pulling out his phone to contact Fury. 

“Nice, kid,” Clint praised. A grin was plastered on your face and you hugged him. 

“Thanks Clint.” 

“Go wash up,” Nat gently pushed you towards the direction of your room. You followed her advice and went to go shower. 

The adrenaline was starting to wear off as you showered. You started seeing and feeling the explosion over and over again in your head. And then suddenly you were sobbing on the floor of your shower. 

“Miss Y/L/N? Are you alright? Shall I get help?” FRIDAY asked. 

“No, I’m fine FRIDAY,” you responded, wiping your tears away and standing up. You shut off the water and threw on your sweats. You shuffled out of your bathroom, ready to collapse onto your bed. 

Except, that wasn’t going to happen. You blinked in surprise as you saw Natasha sitting on your bed.

“The first mission is hard, and yours was especially hard,” she murmured, sending you a soft smile. She patted the bed next to her, and you sat down. Tears made their way down your cheeks. Nat opened her arms and that’s all you needed. You sobbed into her. 

“I know, I know,” she mumbled. After a few minutes you quieted down and pulled back. 

“I’m okay.” 

“You’re not, but that’s okay. Why don’t we do a team movie night? You can pick the movie?” Natasha suggested. 

“Yeah that sounds good.”

+++++

You were snuggled up under several blankets with the rest of the team huddled around you on the couch. You had chosen a light comedy, and were feeling much better. 

“Feel better?” Natasha whispered to you. You smiled. The team had gone above and beyond once hearing you were upset. They had bought you tons of food and snacks, and had offered to take you on a special day out tomorrow.

“Yeah, much better.”


	9. Ch 6: The Accords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accords are brought up. We go off canon just a little bit in this chapter, but it's not too far off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have Ch 7 written, so let me know if you guys want it today!

Natasha huffed, just as you walked into the kitchen. 

“Nat? You alright?” You questioned, voice still thick with sleep. 

“FRIDAY isn’t working. I’m trying to add groceries for her to order, and it’s just not working. Tony probably did something stupid,” she grumbled. You let out a small laugh. 

“Are you laughing?” Natasha turned to look at you, a menacing look on her face. But you could tell she was joking. 

“Nope. I would never,” you teased, going to grab the orange juice from the fridge. 

“WHERE’S THE ORANGE JUICE????” You yelled upon finding none. 

“That’s what I was trying to add to the list!” Nat replied. It was your turn to huff. Just then, you heard Tony walking down the hallway. 

“TONY,” Natasha yelled. 

“Oh god,” you heard him say from the hallway. He cautiously waltzed into the kitchen. 

“What did you do?” Natasha growled. 

“Uhh??” 

“To FRIDAY,” you continued. 

“Oh, right, that. Bruce and I were working on something, and the charge was a little too much, and it happened to knock out the entire FRIDAY server. I’m working on fixing it, it’ll just take a while. I’m a very busy guy.” Natasha looked as though she might pounce on him. 

“We could go grocery shopping Natasha,” you suggested. “It’ll be fun!” She huffed, but agreed that was probably better than murdering Tony. 

And so, half an hour later, you and Nat headed out the door to go shopping. 

Natasha sighed as you both pulled up outside the grocery store. 

“It’ll be fun,” you reminded her, already bouncing from excitement. 

You practically skipped into the store, Natasha trailing behind you. She didn’t wonder why you were so excited- she didn’t have to. You had never been grocery shopping before.

“We need a cart probably. We have quite the list from everyone,” Natasha said, eyes scanning over the list. You nodded and grabbed a cart, pushing it into the store. 

You both rather quickly gathered everything. Until you got to the ice cream isle. 

“Woah, Nat, can I get some ice cream?” You asked hopefully. 

“Sure,” she smiled. You began slowly looking at all of the ice cream. Nat chuckled at first, but grew impatient fairly quickly. 

“Just pick a flavor Y/N,” she laughed. 

“But there’s so many!” 

“You can get more than one,” she allowed. You hummed. How were you supposed to narrow down all of the flavors? Well, Nat did say you could get more than one, and she didn’t specify how many. So, you began grabbing flavor after flavor. Natasha was looking halfway down the aisle at something else anyway, and you snuck the ice cream into the cart under other groceries. You picked out twelve and called it good. 

You had just put the last ice cream into the cart when Natasha came back. 

“Pick your ice cream?” She asked. You nodded and began pushing the cart towards the checkout. If Nat saw how many containers you had grabbed, she’d never let you buy them all.

“Did we get everything?” You questioned. 

“Oh! We forgot to grab the bread from the bakery,” Natasha alerted, grabbing the front of the cart and turning it towards the other direction. 

Her phone rang then, and she pulled it out to answer it. 

“Hey Steve,” she greeted into the phone. She talked with him for a few minutes, tone growing serious. You grew concerned. As soon as she hung up, she turned to you. 

“We need to go home. Now.” 

++++++

“Nat, what’s going on?” You asked once you had both buckled your seatbelts in the car. 

“Steve will tell us all about it.” Her tone was cold and cautious. Nat clearly was worried and upset about whatever Steve had said. You felt yourself begin to panic just a little bit. But, you definitely weren’t going to show it- this seemed serious, and you didn’t want Natasha to have more things to worry about. And so, you both remained silent for the drive back to the compound. 

Once Nat had parked the car, you both hurried inside. The rest of the Avengers were seated in the living room. Their postures were tense, faces filled with worry. Everyone looked up upon hearing you and Natasha returning home. 

“Hey,” Steve greeted quietly. “We’ve got a meeting with the Secretary of State in ten minutes.” 

Nat sighed. “What’s it about this time?” 

“I’m not sure, but it’s not good,” he replied. 

You followed your team into the conference room, taking a seat at the table between Nat and Clint. You bounced your leg nervously. 

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, kid,” Clint whispered to you. 

“How can you be sure?”

He sighed. “I can’t, but things always work out somehow.” 

That made you feel slightly better. Slightly. You didn’t have much more time to dwell because the Secretary of State entered. He greeted all of you, a somber look on his face. There was something else though too, almost a sort of smugness. 

He proceeded to tell everyone that the government had had enough of the Avengers free reign. There were too many close calls throughout the years, and the team needed regulation. Even though you had only been with the Avengers for a short while, that sounded wrong to you. But you listened anyway. And watched as the Secretary placed a thick stack of papers on the table. Wanda glanced at it, before passing it to Rhodey. It was passed eventually to Nat, who gently pushed it towards you. You glanced at her face. Her brows were furrowed, and the frown etched onto her face seemed like it would be permanent. Realizing you were looking at her, Natasha tried to give you a reassuring smile, but you both knew it wouldn’t help. 

You glanced finally at the stack. The Accords. 

Your mind started racing, but you just slid the stack to Clint. Once everyone had had a look at it, questions arose regarding what would happen if the Avengers didn’t sign. You could see a divide forming, both with the Avengers and the government and within the Avengers themselves. The meeting ended shortly after, giving all of you a lot to think about. 

The team moved to the living room to sit more comfortably, and talk of the Accords continued. There was a definite divide, and you couldn’t tell what side you were on yet. You were leaning towards not wanting to sign the Accords, but there were good points brought up towards signing as well. 

With the team disagreeing, you were beginning to feel overwhelmed. What happens if only half sign? Could this mean the end of the Avengers? How would you know if you were making the right choice by signing or not signing? 

You were near tears at this point, and needed to get away. You abruptly stood up.

“I’ll be back,” you muttered, quickly heading towards the door. The team didn’t stop you, and you heard Steve say he needed to leave as well as you left through the door. 

You hurried to the garage and into your car. You started the engine and drove off, heading for your treehouse. After the drive, you were feeling a little less overwhelmed, but you were still definitely panicking slightly. You headed up into your treehouse, and took a seat inside, staring out of one of the glass windows. 

+++++++

A few hours later, you still hadn’t moved. Your thoughts consumed you, and you couldn’t even think about leaving yet, not until you had made sort of decision. 

You could hear the gravel crunch as a car pulled up outside, pulling you from your thoughts. A minute later, there was a knock at the treehouse door.

“Come in,” you said, voice on the softer side. Somehow, the person outside the door (who you were pretty sure was Nat) still heard you, and entered. 

“Hey Y/N,” Natasha greeted quietly. Her face was full of concern and worry, both from the Accords themselves and you running off. 

“Hey,” you responded, turning back to stare out the window. 

“You’ve been gone a long time.” 

You hummed. “It just got….overwhelming.” 

“I know,” she replied. “I’m assuming you’ve been up there thinking about everything?”

You nodded. 

“Have you made a decision?” 

“No,” you stated. “Well, yeah, actually I have.” You tensed and looked up at Nat’s face. Her expression was guarded, trying to remain neutral to hear whatever you decided. But you could tell that she had already decided too. And you had a feeling you were both going to be on different sides. 

“I’m not going to sign Nat.” She did her best to take what you said with a bland face, but the glisten in her eyes gave her away. She nodded. 

“I am,” she told you, doing her best not to let her voice shake. You then realized that you should probably be panicking. If Natasha was this worried, that probably meant something bad was going to happen. 

“What’s going to happen?” You questioned, curling your arms around yourself and bringing your knees up to your chest. 

“I’m not sure yet. There’s an obvious divide between all of us… and that’s not going to change. We’ll have to wait for more information.”

“God, I could really use some of that ice cream I was going to buy right now,” you joked, trying to not let your emotions consume you. Nat sighed. 

“Come home Y/N, it’s getting late. We can stop somewhere and get some ice cream.”

“I don’t actually need ice cream,” you said softly. 

“I think we both could use some though,” Natasha murmured, sending you a small smile. You returned it, and got up off of the floor. You walked towards her and the door, and wrapped your arms around her once you reached her. She hugged you back fiercely. 

“I know it’s going to sound crazy, but everything will eventually work out,” Nat tried to reassure you. It helped slightly that time, and you nodded in response, before opening the door. 

++++++

By the time you both made it back to the compound, it was late. You said your ‘good nights’ and parted ways. The ice cream had put you both in a slightly better mood, but the tension was so heavy in the compound that it was hard to breathe. You tried your best to fall asleep, and eventually fell into a restless nightmare. 

++++++

The next day, you woke up around 2pm to a knocking on your door. Nat entered a moment later, an apologetic smile on her face. 

“Hey, I wanted to let you sleep. There’s a UN meeting happening soon in Vienna, to ratify the Accords. I’m heading there for the signing. Sure I can’t persuade you to come?” She half joked. 

“I’m sorry Nat, I-” you began. She held up a hand to stop you. 

“I know.” 

“Who else is going?” 

“Just me,” Nat replied. “I’m stopping in London to check on Steve and ask him, but I don’t think he’ll come.” 

You nodded. “Who else is signing?” 

“Tony, Rhodey, Vision. Bruce and Thor have been on Asgard for a while, so they weren’t even asked to sign. Which leaves Wanda and Clint not signing.” 

You sighed. Your family was falling apart. Natasha saw your face darken and walked towards you. 

“I have to go now, but I’ll see you soon, okay?” She gave you a small hug and pressed a kiss to the top of your head. 

“Bye Nat,” you frowned as she walked out the door. 

++++++

“Suit up,” Steve commanded. 

You changed and prepared, before heading out with the others onto the tarmac.


	10. Ch 7: The Battle Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Civil War Battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this chapter... means a lot to me. I wrote this chapter first, before I even wrote the prequel. This is what I’ve been building this series up for. Like everything I’ve written has been building towards this. This isn’t the last chapter, but this is definitely what inspired this entire series. And so, it’s really emotional for me to post this. I really hope you guys enjoy. Thank you so much for all your sweet comments so far. I’m so so happy that you like the series.

You were on the side constituting Team Cap as you called it. You were facing opposite Team Iron Man. You knew that this had to end in a fight. Everyone knew. The order in which people were standing had significance; everyone was standing directly opposite the person they needed to fight. And you, you were across from Natasha. It made sense, you knew it did, but you didn’t want to fight her. It was going to kill you to fight her. But you believed strongly in not signing, and you had to fight for what was right. 

You weren’t always as logical as Nat. Yeah, you knew how to think things through and “read the terrain,” as Nat said. But you wanted to follow what you felt was right most of the time. 

You watched as Steve and Tony exchanged some words. You glanced at your mentor, who also kept glancing at you. You could see it in her face. She didn’t want to fight you, but she would. You knew that she didn’t want this fight. She thought it was a bad idea. 

Steve gave the signal. Everyone began walking slowly, but the pace quickly picked up. Suddenly, you were sprinting straight for her. In a few moments, you would be fighting her. Tears welled up as you both locked eyes. You knew she noticed. She saw the I’m sorry you said to her with your gaze. You glanced downwards, blinking your tears away. You need to fight now. You stowed your emotions away, and wiped them off your face, save for the intensity in your eyes as you focused back on her. You looked up, and when you did, Natasha saw you disappear. She only saw the young, trained black widow. It broke her heart. 

You reached each other. You tried to kick her, but she dodged. She tried to strike, but you blocked. You had both been trained in the same place, and after that, she had trained you. You weren’t as good as her, but you knew her moves because they were yours. You both managed to land a few hits, before Natasha knocked your legs out from you. You bounced right back, and soon had your thighs around her neck. You brought her down using her signature move. You rolled a few feet away, kneeling on the ground in a fighting stance. She rapidly, but didn’t assume a fighting stance. She was just looking at you. You hesitated. Pride radiated from her. She was proud of you. You had never really managed to come at her and take her down using her own move. You let your emotions come flowing back into your face. She was proud of you, but you were distraught. You hated fighting her. Her face changed, and she sent you a sympathetic and concerned glance. 

“Y/N,” she spoke. You shook your head, and once again let all emotions leave you. She sighed. She prepared for your next attack, but before you could, Wanda used her powers to launch Nat. You whipped around towards Wanda. 

“You were pulling your punches,” she scolded, before focusing her attention elsewhere. You sighed, before someone called your name. 

“Y/N!” Steve shouted. You saw him and Bucky running towards the Quinjet, but they were being closely tailed by the kid called Spiderman that Tony recruited.

“On it,” you responded, before running over. You threw one of your electric knives at him, careful to aim somewhere that would only incapacitate him. It grazed his right arm, alerting him of your presence. 

“Oh hey,” he said, before shooting a web at you. You growled, and ducked. 

“You’re like my age, right?” he questioned. He didn’t expect you to answer, it seemed, because he continued, “This is crazy, I mean we’re like Avengers fighting with all of them.” 

“I am an Avenger already,” you snarled. You managed to tackle him, bringing him down. 

“Right, sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect Y/N, I mean I know you are...” he rambled. You huffed. You kind of liked him. He was your age and you didn’t really have a lot of friends your age. You didn’t want to hurt him, but you also needed to move on. 

“Sorry,” you muttered, before giving him a mild electric shock. That’ll keep him down for a hot second. 

You continued running, just in time to see T’Challa catching up to Steve and Bucky. You pushed harder, throwing another knife. But before you could take another step, a sharp pain burst through your head. You screamed, falling to the ground. The torture seemed to last forever, though it was only ten seconds. By the time you came back to your senses and sat up, Steve and Bucky had reached the jet and were taking off. You watched as they managed to take off and fly away. You let yourself have a moment of victory, before collapsing back onto the ground. 

You didn’t even hear Natasha coming over to you. She had started running from the other side of the tarmac as soon as she heard your scream. 

“Y/N,” she murmured as she kneeled down beside you. As her face came into your sight, you began to sob. 

“Oh Y/N,” she repeated softly, upset that you were so distraught. You frantically shook your head as you continued to sob. 

“No. No!” You struggled to get up and wrenched your arm out of her grasp, walking away from her. You couldn’t handle being near your mentor after fighting her. This was the person who had rescued you from the Red Room and given you not only a home but a family. The person who had taught you how to live. She tried to follow you, in an attempt to console you somehow. 

Clint overheard you two, and jogged over. He understood how you must have been feeling. He knew how upset you had been about fighting her. He had seen it in your face right before you started charging to fight her. 

“Nat,” he softly grabbed her arm, halting her. “Let her go.” When he knew she wasn’t going to follow you, he dropped his hand, and pressed a quick kiss to her temple, before jogging to catch up with you. Natasha let a few tears fall down her cheeks. She knew what this meant. She knew you would have to go into hiding. She knew she would have to leave too. Her family was falling apart, and she had no idea when she’d see them again. 

When Clint reached you, he put his arm around you and gently lead you to a van that some of the others were already in. You climbed into the back, turning away from everyone as they gazed at you with concern. 

You didn’t pay attention to the drive. All you could think about was Natasha, and what you had done. Eventually, the car stopped. You weren’t sure how long you had been driving, and you didn’t really care. You weren’t even paying attention enough to notice everyone else get out of the car. 

“Y/N,” Clint spoke. You looked up and saw him standing outside the van. You understood that he was waiting for you, and you climbed out. Clint didn’t even bother explaining what was happening, and you didn’t need him to. He left your side to talk with the others for a moment, and returned with Wanda. 

“Alright, let’s go,” he motioned. You followed them both with your eyes downcast. Before you realized, you were suddenly on a Quinjet. Further from Nat. The thought brought a few fresh tears to your eyes. 

You must have fallen asleep, because you awoke a few hours later to find Wanda gone. You wandered up to the cockpit where Clint was. He noticed your confusion. 

“Wanda and Vision went together. I don’t know where they’re going to end up,” Clint said. 

“Oh,” was all you said. 

“We’re going to Italy,” Clint told you. You nodded, eyebrows slightly raised. You weren’t expecting Italy. You were expecting some far off country where you would hide in the mountains. 

A few hours later you landed on an abandoned tarmac. It was nighttime. It made you think of the tarmac from earlier that day- or was it the day before? With the time change and the travel, you weren’t exactly sure how long it had been. Fresh tears came to your eyes. Clint handed you a change of clothes from the jet’s storage. You changed quickly, and you both left the jet. He paused and turned every direction, trying to figure out where he was. 

“It’s going to be a couple miles of a walk,” he told you. You nodded, and began walking with him in some direction. You walked through the dark forest for about an hour, before coming to a dark road. He paused. 

“Here’s our ride,” he muttered. What you assumed to be an Italian taxi pulled up. How Clint had arranged all of this was beyond you, but you followed him into the taxi. You sat close to Clint in the backseat, fear setting in, as well as exhaustion. Before you knew it you were leaning into him, eyes closing. 

“Sleep, Y/N,” he murmured, before gently pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You fell asleep after that. 

Clint woke you after what felt like an hour.

“We’re here.” He led you up a back flight of stairs to an apartment building entrance. Once inside, you climbed a few more flights of stairs, and followed him down a hallway. He stopped at a door, and searched around for something. He pressed his hand against a spot in the wall, revealing a secret compartment of sorts. He pulled out the key, before making the wall seamless again. 

You walked in and he turned on the lights. It was an open and spacious apartment from what you could tell. You could see the kitchen in the far corner. It was large with a lot of counterspace. The counter was a light marble, and the cabinets were modern. The living room was large with a large couch and a big TV. 

“There are four bedrooms. Go pick yours,” Clint said to you. “Don’t pick the master!” he jokingly yelled as you wandered down the hallway. You checked out all of the bedrooms, and chose one. It had big open windows and a balcony. You could see some of the winding Italian streets, which you liked. You set your stuff down and were about to collapse onto the bed when you overheard voices in the kitchen. Clint hadn’t told you anyone else would be joining. You walked out of your new room and wandered down the hallway, and you saw her. 

Nat. You immediately started running towards her, tears already streaming down your face. She opened her arms for you and you practically jumped into them, sobbing audibly. She let you cry for a minute, before starting to rub your back and shushing you. 

“It’s okay,” she murmured into your hair. “I’m here.” You quieted and pulled back, finally seeing that she had tears running down her cheeks too. She glanced over at Clint, smirking slightly when she saw that he had shed a tear. 

“Shut up,” he muttered, hauling his stuff to the master bedroom. “I’m going to shower and then go to bed.” You both wished him goodnight. You opened your mouth to apologize to Natasha for everything but she held her hand up.

“Tomorrow, Y/N,” she said softly. “We’re both exhausted and we need some rest. We can talk about it tomorrow.” You nodded, yawning. 

“Goodnight,” she chuckled, before pressing a kiss to the top of your head. She walked down the hallway and picked a random bedroom. You wandered into the kitchen, curious to see if there was any food. The fridge was stocked, and you grabbed a piece of fruit, before heading back to your new room and collapsing onto the bed.


	11. Ch 8: Sleepless Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I"m sick and my sick brain wrote this. It is not good and i do not like it. but yeah. the next ch will focus more i hope on nat x reader. if anyone has ideas of where they want this series to go, please let me know!

You startled awake and turned your head to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 3:27AM. You rolled your eyes and tried to get comfortable so that you could fall back asleep. But your mind started racing. You hadn’t had time to really process anything that had happened. 

Once you realized there was no way you were going to fall back asleep, you made your way to the kitchen and filled the kettle with water. You set it on the stove and then searched the cabinets for tea. You smiled upon finding your favorite tea, and for some reason, you then started sobbing. 

Everything was too much. The Avengers had just fought. You had just fought your mentor. You had seen people get hurt. Was Rhodey even okay? He had needed emergency medical, and you had no idea what had happened after that. And what about Wanda and Vision? Or Sam? And Tony? Was he even speaking to anyone? Would the Avengers ever get back together? And now- now you were safe but were you actually? And you had Nat and Clint but was this now how things were going to be? You didn’t want them to be this way. And Nat. What if Natasha was disappointed in you? She probably wasn’t but if you were being honest with yourself, you were disappointed in you. You did what you thought was right but… now that everything had happened, maybe it wasn’t right. Maybe- 

“Y/N?” 

You looked up to see Nat standing in the doorway of the kitchen. You probably looked like a mess. Tears still streamed down your face and your eyes were definitely puffy by now. Plus, you were breathing so fast you thought you might pass out. 

“Sorry,” you responded, wiping your eyes. The kettle whistled, and you turned to pour yourself some tea. 

“I’ve got it,” Natasha murmured, coming over to grab the kettle and tea. “You’re shaking. Go sit and wait on the couch and try to calm your breathing.” 

She gently directed you in the general direction of the living room, and you shakily made your way to the couch. You sat down and pulled your knees up to your chest. Nat made her way towards you a minute later and set your tea down on the coffee table. She sat down next to you on the couch and you immediately turned to bury yourself into her. Nat wrapped her arms around you, but only for a minute. 

“You’re safe Y/N. Everything is okay- well, relatively okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” 

You nodded your head and grabbed your mug. You sipped your tea slowly for a few moments. 

“I just- everything- I’m scared. And I’m sorry.” 

“Y/N, listen to me. You do not need to apologize. You did not do anything wrong. You fought for what you thought was right. That’s what any of us do as Avengers. You did your job and you did it well. Things don’t always work out- that’s what is tough about this job. I know your scared, but Clint and I are here, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you,” she soothed. 

“I know,” you responded quietly. “I- but what about the Avengers? Will we be okay?”

Natasha sighed. You could see that she was scared too. 

“I don’t know,” she responded. “All we can do is deal with what’s in front of us right now. Things that will happen will happen, with or without our control.” 

You both sat in silence for a few minutes. You thought about what Nat said while you finished your tea. You definitely felt calmer. And safer. 

“Thank you Nat. I feel better,” you admitted with a small smile. 

“Good. You know, I’m really impressed and proud that you nailed my signature move yesterday.” 

“Oh, I honestly forgot about that. I think I may have even done it better than you,” you smirked. 

Natasha quirked an eyebrow and shook her head with a laugh. 

“Think you can fall back asleep?” She questioned after a few moments. 

“Yeah, I think so,” you mused. 

“Okay, then get some rest. Tomorrow we need fresh minds,” Natasha stated, with a hint of a smile.

“Why? What’s happening tomorrow?” 

“I’m not entirely sure, but I’m really hoping he comes through.” 

“Wha- he who?” 

“Goodnight, Y/N,” Natasha chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, everything’s okay.” 

And with that, Nat left you alone on the couch, and entirely confused. Who was coming tomorrow? Or, you guessed, maybe coming tomorrow? 

You stood up and made your way back to your room after dropping off your empty mug in the sink. 

++++++

You blinked your eyes as sunlight streamed into your room, waking you up. You looked at the alarm clock and found out that it was almost noon. You could hear the muffled voices of Clint and Natasha coming from the kitchen. You got out of bed and stretched, before heading out of your room. 

You stopped as you grew closer to the kitchen, and realized they were talking about you. 

“-I just don’t know what we’re going to do. Splitting up is the best option. I know it. You know it.”

“She’s not ready for that Clint. She-“

“She’s an adult!”

“She’s a teenager!”

“What do you think he is going to say to that?” Clint argued. Nat didn’t respond to that, and changed the subject instead. 

“You’re going to wake her up,” she chided. 

You stood in the hallway for another minute, a little shocked. Three Avengers in hiding together was definitely going to be difficult. It made sense to split up, but Nat was right, you definitely weren’t ready for that. Also, was someone else joining you guys? Was it going to be four Avengers in hiding together? That honestly seemed a bit too insane to you, but if there were three already, what was one more? 

After a minute of letting your thoughts run wild, you headed to join them in the kitchen. 

“Morning,” you greeted quietly upon entering. 

“Oh, hey Y/N,” Clint responded, managing a small smile. 

“How did you sleep?” Nat questioned. 

“Good,” you responded, grabbing some cereal and milk. 

An awkward silence fell over the kitchen, as no one quite knew what to say. You rushed to finish your breakfast, and were just about to return to your room to shower when Nat cleared her throat, clearly preparing to say something. 

“Y/N, Steve is coming to visit today. And… Tony is too.” 

“Oh,” you managed to get out. You had seen how Tony had gotten with the Accords situation. 

“He’s not coming here to turn any of us in,” Clint said, reading your thoughts. You nodded, still feeling a little uneasy. And then your mind went somewhere else.

“Wait, but, Tony and Steve in the same room…”

“They’ve agreed to keep it civil,” Clint responded. 

“Or so they say,” Natasha chimed in. 

You nodded again. 

“They’ll be here in an hour,” Nat continued. 

“I’m going to go shower then,” you responded. You slowly walked back to your room, thinking about everything Nat and Clint had said. Were you going to have to split up? Why were Tony and Steve coming here? Were they going to be able to remain civil? 

++++++

After your shower, you curled up onto the couch and mindlessly watched whatever was on TV. And then someone knocked on the door. You watched as Clint gracefully hurried to the door, bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. Nat had jumped up and positioned herself in a hidden spot near the door, with her gun perfectly aimed towards it. Clint peeked through the peephole and relaxed a second later. He opened the door and Steve and Tony rushed inside, with someone else trailing behind them. 

Wait, you recognized him. That was Spiderman. What was he doing here? Your mind raced with a million other thoughts, but you ignored them, trying to pay attention to what was going on. 

Everyone greeted each other, before heading towards the living room, where you were seated. Clint and Natasha joined you on the couch, and the others sat down in various chairs. No one spoke for a minute. 

“Alright, well since no one else seems to want to say anything, guess I’ll start,” Tony finally spoke.


	12. Update Question

Hey bbys! :)

So, I have an important question for you!

I know that a lot of you love this story. I've had some of you tell me just how much it means to you, and I couldn't be happier to give it to you. 

So, ch 9 could go one of two ways, and so I want your help. 

Please let me know in the comments!

A. Tony takes reader back to America, grants immunity, but reader is therefore taken from her mentor. I could do a time jump, in the same chapter to the next time nat and reader see each other. 

OR

B. Nat and reader (and Clint) refuse to let Tony take her back, insisting the safest place for the reader is with them.


	13. Ch 9: Hurtful Words and Apologies

“What happened with the Accords,well it wasn’t ideal,” Tony began. 

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Clint huffed, crossing his arms. Nat sent him a sideways glance, unamused. You shifted, already uncomfortable with Tony being there. And Peter already kept trying to catch your eyes, probably seeking some sort of comfort in the fact that you were both close to the same age and were both freaking out over what happened. 

You zoned out as Clint, Tony, Natasha, and Steve argued over things, until you realized they were talking about you. 

“I can take her,” Tony proposed, pointing to you. “I can get her out of here, bring her back, get the government to absolve her from her crimes, like Peter. She’s young, it’ll work.” 

“Absolutely NOT,” you seethed. 

“Yeah, she’s not going anywhere,” Clint reinforced. Natasha didn’t say anything, and instead you could see the gears turning in her head. You were horrified when you realized she was thinking about sending you back with Tony. 

Nat was logical, and put your safety first. If this was what she thought was best for you, she was definitely going to send you back with him. But, she also cared about you a lot, and so she’d talk things over with you before she did anything drastic. 

“Y/N, can I talk to you in the other room?” She asked. 

You nodded stiffly, already knowing what she was going to say. 

Once you and her entered the master bedroom, the furthest away from the others, Natasha looked at you apologetically as she took a seat on the bed. 

“You want to send me back there.” 

Nat knew you’d be upset, and so she simply nodded. She watched as tears escaped your eyes. You were silent for a minute, getting more upset by the second. 

“What happened to ‘staying together is more important than how we stay together?’” You cried finally, tears streaming down your face. 

“You can go back and have no criminal record. You’d be safe and not on the run!” Natasha retorted, trying her best not to cry or yell. 

“I don’t care about whether I’m on the run, I care about- I’d be safe here! With you and with Clint!”

“You’d be safer with no one after you.”

“Please,” you sobbed. “Nat, please, don’t make me do this,” you ended in a whisper. At the desperation in your voice, a tear escaped Natasha’s eye, though she tried to hide it. She wanted to remain strong-willed for your safety, but it was you. And you’d never asked her for something like this before.

Your mentor was silent for a minute, thinking. It would be more dangerous for you to remain with her and Clint, but the two of them would also do anything to protect you. They would make sure that you didn’t get hurt with them. Or at least try to. Steve’s words seem to echo in her head. The safest hands are still our own. And you were eighteen, meaning you should get some say in making your own decisions. 

“Okay. You can stay.”

You were a bit taken aback. You didn’t think she’d let you stay. Well, even if she was letting you stay, she didn’t want you to, or that’s what you thought. You nodded once again, making sure your face was void of any emotion. And then you left the room, heading back to the others. 

Natasha watched you go and furrowed her brows. She knew you might be upset with her, but you seemed especially cold. Nat sighed and wiped away any stray tears, and made her way back to the others. 

Upon sitting back down on the couch, you avoided looking at anyone. From what you had seen, they definitely had heard a little bit of your conversation with Natasha. 

“She’s staying with us,” Nat sternly told Tony as she entered the room. Tony looked back and forth from your face to hers. He could see that Natasha had made her mind up, and that there was nothing he could do. 

“Well, I guess that’s that, then,” he muttered. “I have nothing else to say and bringing my young friend here didn’t work to convince her, so. Come on, Pete.”

Steve sighed as he watched Tony and Peter leave, Peter being much more hesitant. You looked up as Peter stood. He sent you a sad smile, which you returned. 

“What are you doing here, Cap?” Clint asked. You gazed at Steve curiously, realizing he hadn’t really divulged what he was doing here. Steve waited until he made sure Tony and Peter were gone before opening his mouth. 

“I’m breaking Buck and the others out of the Raft,” Steve informed. 

“Steve, while I admire your need to make this right, that’s a dangerous thing to attempt,” Natasha replied. 

“I don’t care. I’m doing it. I came here to tell you that, and ask if I could tell them where to find you if they need a place to lie low.”

“Yeah, of course,” Clint chimed in. “We’ll make sure they’ve got a room here if any of them need it.” 

Natasha didn’t say anything, but nodded after Clint had spoken to show she was on board. 

“Do you want help?” You surprised everyone by speaking.

“Y/N/N, I appreciate you asking, but I need to do this alone. I got everyone into this mess, it’s my job to get them out. I’m not putting anyone else at risk,” Steve concluded. You nodded, understanding his point, but a little sad that you couldn’t do anything to help your teammates, your family. 

“Well, I better be on my way. Stay safe,” Steve instructed, his “captain voice” sneaking through. 

“We will,” Nat answered, giving him a quick hug. Clint shook Steve’s hand and wished him luck, before you practically tackled him. You were going to miss him. 

“Bye Steve,” you murmured into his chest. 

“This isn’t the end, Y/N.” 

“I know.” 

And with that, Steve left through the door quickly and quietly. Silence filled the apartment and no one moved for a moment. 

“So, who wants dinner?” Clint clapped his hands together. 

“Not hungry,” you muttered, before making a bee-line for your room. You heard Natasha sigh, which only made you angry. 

You started sobbing the moment you closed the door to your room. It just was too much. Natasha had wanted to send you back. And yeah, you got that she wanted the best for you, but the Avengers were your family. She was the one who was always preaching about how family needed to stick together. But apparently that didn’t apply to you. 

You were growing angrier and more upset by the second. And your sobs were growing louder. The whole building could probably hear you, but you didn’t care. How could you? Nothing mattered anymore. Your entire life had just been torn to shreds, and what was worse was that it wasn’t the first time. First, with the Red Room, and now here. It was too much. And you just couldn’t stop thinking about your mentor. The one person who you trusted more than anyone else in the entire world didn’t want you here. It was childish and partly illogical to think that, but you didn’t care. 

A knock on the door quieted you for a moment. You wiped away some tears and tried to control your breathing. You didn’t really want to talk right now, especially because you had an idea of who was outside that door. 

“Y/N?” Another knock. 

“I’m coming in,” Nat said after another minute of silence. She entered, several emotions on her face. 

“I have a feeling there’s some things you’d like to say to me,” she tried to joke a bit.

“Nope.” 

“Y/N, I’m not sorry for wanting you to be safe.”

“Okay.” 

“I know you’re angry with me,” she said softly. Suddenly, you did have something to say to her. 

“Angry!? Angry doesn’t cut it, Natasha. I’m livid! You treat me like I’m a child, but I’m an adult! And this is my family too, not just yours! You were so set on family sticking together at first, and then you just gave that up when it came to me! Maybe Tony’s right. You’re always double agent- on two sides at the same time and I’m sick of it! I hate that you wanted to send me back and I hate that I’m here and I hate you!” You hissed. 

Natasha sat there with a shocked look on her face. And so did you. You were still angry, but you knew you’d gotten carried away. You thought Nat would get angry, but she didn’t. She almost looked like she was going to cry. 

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way,” she murmured, before standing and leaving, shutting your door behind her. 

You let yourself break down once again, this time under the covers of your bed. After about an hour, you were all cried out, and exhausted. You fell into a restless sleep, dried tears on your cheeks. 

++++++

When you woke up, it was late. You felt sick to your stomach thinking about what you had said to Nat. You hadn’t meant half of it, and you were sorry that you had let things escalate. You were just upset because it felt like you were losing everything. But now that you had time to sleep and not be upset, you didn’t want to lose her too. 

You wanted to go apologize, but it was too late. Natasha was probably asleep. You were awake now though, and so you decided that eating a little something would probably be a good idea. You stretched your tired limbs and opened the door, quietly making your way down the dark hallway. 

As soon as the living room appeared in sight, you stopped hard. The lamp was on, and Natasha was sitting there with a cup of tea in her hand. She was staring at the warm liquid, her eyes red and puffy. 

“Natasha?” You murmured. She looked up, gaze slightly hardening at the realization that it was you, but only slightly. 

“Can I talk to you?” You whispered, fidgeting with your hands. 

“Yeah,” she replied quietly, patting the couch. You made your way over tentatively, and sat on the opposite side. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. “I’m sorry I said the things I did. I didn’t mean them, I was just really upset. I don’t hate you, Nat. I know you’re only ever trying to protect me and keep me safe. I’m sorry.” 

“Me too,” she confessed. 

“What? You don’t have anything to-“

She held up a hand.

“I do. You were partly right. I treat you like a child sometimes. And you are young, just barely an adult, but you should get to make your own decisions, especially when it comes to being in this family. I try so hard to protect you sometimes that I do forget that they are your family too, just as much as they are mine. I’m sorry I made you feel as though I didn’t want you to stay here. Because I do want you to stay. Of course I do. You’re my family. I know I’ve said some conflicting things, but I do want us to stay together.” 

You nodded, not quite sure what to say. Everything Nat had just said was everything you wanted to hear. It was quiet for a minute.

“I hate that this all happened, but I’m happy that I’m here with you and Clint,” you murmured. 

“Maybe tomorrow we can all explore the city together. A little family outing,” Natasha said, her tone light. 

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” you replied, an actual smile falling to your lips. 

“You didn’t eat dinner. There’s some leftovers in the fridge for you.” 

“Thanks, Nat. I’m starving,” you suddenly realized, causing her to chuckle. You stood to go reheat the food. You debated for a moment, before leaning down to give her a quick hug. She returned it and then you were racing off to the kitchen.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Natasha called. 

“Yeah.” You waited as the microwave heated up the food. You moved to get a view of the living room. “What movie?”

“How about a comedy? I think we could both use that,” she smiled. 

“Yeah, a comedy sounds good.” 

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” You asked. 

“Maybe a beer?”

You grabbed the warm food and brought her a beer from the fridge. 

“Do you want one?” She asked. 

“A beer?” You replied incredulously. 

“It is Europe, you are of legal age here,” Natasha chuckled. 

“Oh god, yes please,” you said dramatically as you made your way back to the fridge. You plopped back down onto the couch next to Nat after you had grabbed your beer. She started the movie and you two sipped your beers, feeling slightly optimistic for the first time since the fight on the tarmac.


End file.
